Closing Reflections and Bibliography

Tory Jeremiah D'Anna, Untitled.

This course did not convince me of the value of religious education being taught across the curriculum. I have been on board since my earliest flirtations with Catholic writers and other Christian humanists. However, I leave this class with a new vocabulary and set of evidence to back my claims that this is the authentically Catholic vision of education that the leaders of the church want, and it uses the interdisciplinary methods that championing broadness in an age where thinking skills are being depleted due to intense early specialization geared toward entry in the economy. I do not expect we will ever de-emphasize STEM because of its monetary value. However, the Catholic genius has always been finding a both/and solution rather than forcing an either/or false dichotomy. At our best, our cliched motto could be, "Here comes everybody!" I am walking away from this class with a reaffirmed belief that all of the disciplines taught by and to all kinds of diverse people with different intelligence have a place at the table of plenty. I do see myself as a practicioner and advocate of the Christian humanist tradition, and I think that tradition must adapt and survive beyond the rapidly decaying technology that makes the rich get richer. We are the leaven for the STEM community, and we must look to redeem rather than wage the culture war of a Luddite.

Nonetheless, the personalist ethic and relational religious understanding that comes from following someone who is truly alive in Christ is severely challenged by the large number of scandals and abuse at the most authoritative levels of the church. Whoever is trying to do this in the best spirit of Catholicism must be ready to endure the ridicule deserved by those who have caused scandal. Perhaps, if the Catholic educator looks at his or her students in the way Christ looks at his disciples, then maybe all is not lost. I would like to see the Church do more to bolster Catholic identity in the schools, but becoming open and dealing with abusers swiftly and forcefully is the pressing need right now. In the end, it is on me to represent Christ as best I can so that my students may know the love of their Creator.

Thank you to Dr. Petriello and all the fine students who have accompanied me on this journey this summer. May God bless you in all your good works. Veni Sancte Spiritus. Veni per Mariam.

Bibliography

Aquila, Dominic. "The Value of a Catholic Liberal Arts Education." Catholic Education Resource Center, 1997.

Carron, Julian. Disarming Beauty. University of Notre Dame Press, 2017. pg 111.

Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes) 1965.

Communion and Liberation. "About CL."

Duffy, Michael and D'Neil. Children of the Universe: Cosmic Education in the Montessori Elementary Classroom. Parent-Child Press, 2016. pg. 5.

King, Martin Luther, Jr. “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” 1963.

Lake, Kathy. "Integrated Curriculum." School Improvement Research Series, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, 1994. 

The New American Bible Revised Edition. The Catholic Study Bible. 3rd ed., edited by Donald Senior et al., Oxford UP, 2016.

Phenix, Philip. Education and the Worship of God. Westminster, 1966, 13-33. Chapter One.